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Former Watertown High baseball star Jason Grechika thought it was lost forever. He didn't know when he lost it, how he lost it, or where, but after 10 years, it was surely gone for good.

Lindsay Thomeer found it on the roadside about six years ago. She and her husband were out for a walk with the dog. As they crossed a busy thoroughfare in Nashville, Tenn., there it was, bright, a bit battered and, unknown to her at the time, a long way from home.

It is a ring from Watertown High's 1997 Class L state championship baseball team. It was a memorable game, a 4-3 Indians victory over Seymour, made famous by a Vic Vicenzi game-winning home run in the sixth inning.

Each member of the team received a championship ring. Grechika's uniform number, 16, is engraved on one side of the ring. His nickname, Cheeks, is on the other.

It was one of his most prized possessions, as it was for his twin brother and teammate, Jeremy. The ring and Jason Grechika were never far apart.

"I always knew where it was," said Grechika, now 33 and living in Tampa, Fla. "Usually I had it on a night stand, or in jewelry box. I wore it almost every day."

And one day, it was gone.

"I could never put my head around where it could be," he said.

It was an important part of Grechika's past. Jason was an all-state soccer and baseball player. Jeremy an all-stater in football and baseball, but their lasting legacy in Watertown will always be baseball.

The twins were the thumpers in the middle of the lineup. When Jeremy pitched, Jason played first, and vice versa. No championship was safe from a Grechika-led team. They won everything, Little League, Koufax, Mantle, Legion, the NVL, and most importantly, the Class L title in 1997.

"It was a nice ring," Grechika said, "and it symbolized where I am from, and what I did. It was the best thing in the world.

Both Grechika's live in Tampa now. Jason followed Jeremy there in 2001. He manages a paint store. Through work he takes business trips to sales conventions in Nashville. He can't remember bringing the ring to Tennessee.

But that's where Thomeer found it.

"I saw it on the street, just lying there," Thomeer said. "I was watching where I was stepping, there aren't any sidewalks there, and I saw it, and picked it up."

At the time, it wasn't any great mystery to Thomeer. The word "Watertown" dominates the ring, and just outside of Nashville is a Tennessee town called Watertown, with a Watertown High School. One phone call should wrap up this investigation.

Not exactly. It was the wrong Watertown.

"What I found out was that there are so many Watertowns in the United States," Thomeer said.

There is a Watertown in Tennessee, but also in Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, and the one we know in Connecticut. Thomeer did web searches, made phone calls and came up empty every time.

The good news for Grechika is that Thomeer loves research. The family dabbles in genealogy and has traced their roots back to the Mayflower. Surely, it shouldn't be that difficult to find a fellow named Cheek in a place called Watertown.

Thomeer, 51, pieced together the puzzle over six years, now and then pulling the ring out of drawer. She made web searches and phone calls, and for a time, gave up the quest.

"I can't remember the last time I searched," she said, "but I was cleaning out my desk the other day and I saw the ring again. I picked it up and went online to see what I could find. I guess I did a better search this time."

She called Watertown High in Watertown, Mass. Nothing. Then she called Watertown High in Watertown, Conn. She spoke with athletic director Roberto Medic, who has only been on the job for five months.

Baseball championship in 1997? Hmmm, that sounds familiar. He asked around, was there anyone on the team named Cheeks?

"Roberto contacted me and he sent me an e-mail with pictures of the ring," Grechika said. His first reaction was, "Oh my God. No way. Are you kidding me?"

Thomeer's determined search is truly remarkable.

"Doesn't everyone love a mystery?" she joked. "If it was my ring, I would love for somebody to try and find me. I only wanted to make sure that the person who owns it gets the ring back. I can go to Heaven happy."

For Grechika, the painful days of looking at his brother's championship ring, and wondering what had happened to his, will soon be over.

"It's been so long, I had accepted the fact that it was gone," he said. "Somehow, I misplaced something that meant so much to me. I am just thankful that it was found by someone who would keep it all this time, and look for the owner. I am as lucky as it gets."

Sometime today Lindsay Thomeer will package up the ring and ship it from Nashville to Tampa. The ring is finally going home.

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